Do headstart programs work? Survival and body condition in headstarted Mona Island iguanas Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri

Abstract

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 6:55-65 (2008) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00130 Do headstart programs work? Survival and body condition in headstarted Mona Island iguanas Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri Néstor Pérez-Buitrago1,2,3,*, Miguel A. García2,3, Alberto Sabat1, Johanna Delgado4, Alberto Álvarez3, Owen McMillan1,2, Stephan M. Funk1,2,5,* 1Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation, University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931, USA 2Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931, USA 3Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, Wildlife Division, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00906, USA 4Texas A&M University – Kingsville, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Kingsville, Texas 78363, USA 5Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augres Manor, Trinity, Jersey JE3 5BP, Channel Islands *Corresponding authors: Email: yani@yahoo.com, stephan.funk@durrell.org ABSTRACT: Headstarting refers to the raising of hatchlings in captivity and subsequently releasing them into the wild and it is a widely used tool to protect endangered species by increasing survivorship. Evaluating the success of headstart programs is necessary but challenging. We evaluated a headstart program for the endangered Mona Island iguana Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri by analyzing demographic and spatial data and by comparing growth rate, body condition, and external parasitic load of headstarted and wild iguanas. Hatchlings were released at about 3 yr age. Minimum survival rate was 40.3 %, at 7.6 to 48.3 mo after release. Most migrated from the release site back to the rearing facilities about 633 m away. Density around the rearing facility increased from 7.5 to 11.5 iguanas ha–1 (25 of 75 captures were headstarted iguanas). Released headstarted iguanas exhibited growth rates similar to the maxima observed in captive and wild mid-sized iguanas. Growth rates decreased immediately prior to release, indicating that husbandry practices ought to be reviewed. There was no evidence for an effect of captivity on susceptibility to external parasites. Increased local density indicates that the program was successful. However, the longer-term success remains unknown, as most headstarted iguanas returned to the headstart facility without establishing territories typical for adult wild Mona iguanas. KEY WORDS: Conservation management · Headstarting · Reintroduction · Rock iguana · Cyclura · Mona Island · Caribbean· Puerto Rico Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Pérez-Buitrago N, García MA, Sabat A, Delgado J, Álvarez A, Mcmillan O, Funk SM (2008) Do headstart programs work? Survival and body condition in headstarted Mona Island iguanas Cyclura cornuta stejnegeri. Endang Species Res 6:55-65. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00130 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 6, No. 1. Online publication date: October 14, 2008 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2008 Inter-Research.